Family vows to seek justice after assault
Almost a year has passed since the incident, and the Rileys have sought legal action.
IN the hope of attaining justice, an Amanzimtoti family has shared their frustration with the less than satisfactory outcome of an assault.
The family want an explanation as to why the case was declined for prosecution.
The family have now sought legal action in an effort to have the matter heard in a criminal court. They have obtained CCTV footage which shows Nicole Riley (22) being struck in the face with a glass by a woman acquaintance at the Thirsty Whale in the early hours of Saturday morning, 7 April 2018. The injuries she sustained have left Nicole visually impaired, placed great stress, pain and trauma on the family, as well as a hefty financial burden. She has been left with a 95 per cent loss of vision in the eye and has permanent stitches.
The person who allegedly struck Nicole also opened an assault charge, without a J88 on the same day, while Nicole was undergoing emergency surgery.
Nicole was accompanied by family as she opened a case of assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm (GBH) at Toti Police Station after she was discharged. Nicole’s mother, Sheryel-Leigh Riley, explained that even though her injuries were clearly visible, she was turned away as she did not have a J88 form. “Still traumatised and in pain, Nicole had to go back to the hospital to get the doctor to complete the J88. This was taken to the Police. A docket was then opened and her statement taken,” said Sheryel-Leigh.
“Some two months later, I contacted Toti Police to speak with the captain, who was not available, to ask why our case was handled differently. I eventually went there in person to see her and again left a message.
“We also visited Amanzimtoti Magistrate Court to find out what was happening with the processing of the case. The prosecutor handling the case told me on two occasions telephonically and once via email that the accused would be summoned to court and charged for the assault. A couple of days later, I was abruptly told it had been decided not to proceed with the prosecution. When I asked why, I was told by the prosecutor that no reason needed to be provided for the decision.”
Almost a year has passed since the incident, and the Rileys have sought legal action.
“The attorney we hired requested copies of the dockets as the case had been declined to prosecute, but this was refused. He was also refused a copy of a witness statement which is recorded as corroborating the assault that took place on my daughter.”
This was not the first stumbling block since the incident, as there were apparently complications in obtaining the original video footage from the establishment, opening a case after the assault and having the case reach the court after months had passed.
The owner of The Thirsty Whale, Cindy Theunissan, said that she is aware of the incident.
“I strongly dispute the allocations made about ‘complications in obtaining the original video footage’. We were more than cooperative in respect of the footage. We called in our CCTV maintenance man to try and improve the video quality on the footage,” she said.
The SUN approached Amanzimtoti SAPS and detectives on the matter.
Toti Police spokesperson, Captain Charlene van der Spuy, explained that the attention now brought back to the case has seen the dockets currently being placed back with the Director of Public Prosecution for perusal and final decision.
DID YOU KNOW?
Click on the words highlighted in red to read more on this and related topics.
To receive news links via WhatsApp, send an invite to 061 694 6047
The South Coast Sun is also on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest – why not join us there?
Do you have more information pertaining to this story?
Feel free to let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or you can contact our newsroom on 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist.
(Comments posted on this issue may be used for publication in the Sun)
